A good example of the best of the series, classic take on the growing love/hate dynamic between Sam and Diane.

Sam decides to convince Diane that the women he dates actually have some degree of intelligence.

These early installments are my favorites in all the seasons of "Cheers". While some of the characterizations are a little unsettled at this point, that actually works in a bar atmosphere. In this case, Sam obviously wants to impress Diane but in the end has to fall back on verbal sparring. Before all the baggage of later episodes, the insults among the two are by far the best. The sexual tension and ambiguity only really works optimally in these cases. Malone's closing monologue and Diane's reaction to it are really nicely written, especially when seen for the first time and without knowing the history of the series.

The subplots are good, Coach is funny right off the bat and Cliff is given an early chance to show off his so-called knowledge, in this case asserting that the intestines of an average whale would stretch out to a "good three miles and change". At this early stage, the bar seems impressed that he knows what he's talking about.

I was not a big follower of a lot of TV in the 80s, year one of "Cheers" was one of the few really different sitcoms, using dialog to explore relationships that were not yet settled.

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